A woman seated beside a fireplace in a well-lit domestic interior peels apples, while a young girl stands at her side holding a piece of fruit. The composition is arranged with the figures set against a tiled hearth, beneath a mantel adorned with gilded ornament and a striped cloth. Light enters from tall windows at the right, casting a pattern of window panes on the wall and illuminating the woman's white apron and the red of her skirt.

The scene is painted in oil on canvas, with careful attention to the textures of fabric, tiles, and wicker, and a restrained palette characteristic of mid-17th-century Dutch interiors. A Woman Peeling Apples was created by Pieter de Hooch circa 1663, during the artist’s mature period when he was active in Delft and later Amsterdam. Genre scenes such as this were highly valued in the Dutch Golden Age for their detailed depiction of everyday life and domestic order. The painting’s quiet activity, naturalistic light, and balanced perspective reflect the influence of contemporary Delft painters, including Johannes Vermeer.

The painting is in the Wallace Collection in London, and its subject and style are typical of de Hooch’s focus on middle-class households and the virtues of domestic life.